When Someone Is In Love
by Band8PGeek
Summary: What can they say? What can they do? One shot. Again, the pairing may surprise you.


_**When Someone Is In Love  
**__What can they say? What can they do? One shot. Again, the pairing may surprise you. _

Yyyyyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawn! Geez, it's been a while. What with the new year drawing in, me almost another year older, MeltedFluff suddenly becoming a fan and a new forum in my list of Places to Donate To In My Will, you've have thought I'd forgotten all about you guys. But no, here's a little mid-Krusty Love piece to assure you that you are never far from my minds. What a sweet sentiment.  
Soundtrack: Phil Collins's "Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)". Beautiful song; you really oughta listen to it sometimes.  
Disclaimer: I don't own SpongeBob SquarePants any more than Goofy wants a flea... though with **my** dreams acting up, who knows what could happen?! (writes story)

* * *

When someone is in love. What can they say?  
What can they do?  
What could Squidward do but look, look on at the happy couples in the fancy restaurant?  
Every table was the same. Roses in vases. Men in tuxedos. Women loving the taste of steamed coral; cooked to perfection.  
But no man was as distinguished as Krabs, in the middle table.  
No woman as beautiful as Mrs Puff. 

Mrs Puff. The very thought of her name got his heart hammering in his chest. Everything did, actually. It had done ever since she moved in from the Atlantic Ocean to Calamari High School.  
Needless to say, as the only non-cephalopod there she was the subject of most of the teasing; only Squidward (14 back then) had the courage to stand up for her when it got a bit too much. It was a routine he started going through every 5 periods: 'Puff gets picked on, stand up to her, kick bully(s)'s tushies, go to medical room, return to scheduled activity covered in bandages'. You could set your watch by it.  
After her first week there, though, the chain was broken. Rather than him standing up for her, **she **stood up for **him**. And she _actually thanked him _for all he was doing.  
After that, he was hooked. The crush hit him worse than Squilliam Fancyson's latest insult did sometimes. One minute she was a student, the next – the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. It was the classic 'forgotten' love story; confusing companionship with romance. But he didn't care. He was just glad that all those wishes for a first crush paid off. He kept his distance, though – he didn't want to come across as a pervert, nor look too eager for her company.  
Even though he thought a lot about getting into her pants. (A.N.: Oo)  
But this attraction was short-lived. After some barnacle-head (went by the name of Bob) literally drove her to insanity, she went back to her home ocean a month later. And one potential girl in Squid's life was replaced with another – Lisi Electrix.  
He never really thought of Mrs Puff again.  
But after her coincidental turning up at the Krusty Krab this very morning, how could the ghosts of his past **not **scratch and bite at his mind like an agitated sea-worm?

Squidward sighed. He knew he shouldn't be feeling like this. After so long apart, why should those feelings and fantasies from eons past strike again? Why then, when ironic identical feelings struck in a different man for the same girl?  
It was times like this he dreaded the earlier memories of high school; hated Squilliam more than ever. All those years of being picked on had undermined his confidence enough that Squidward never managed to take it further than conversations or the occasional infant kiss. And now? Look at her, dressed up in mink and peacock feathers, picking her fine white teeth with platinum toothpicks decorated with precious gems... Why, if Mr Krabs continued like this, next time he would go the full hog. And literally; piglets and roast swans, pheasant and caviar...  
He was licking his lips just thinking about it.  
If only Squidward hadn't been so insecure in high school years. Then **he** would be the one in the tuxedo, with Mrs Puff hanging on to **his** every word, her eyes large and baby blue.  
Talking of blue, that "imported music" in there was really starting to bum him out. He nearly wanted to go in there and drown it out with a clarinet solo.  
But he didn't have the strength. He couldn't move. He couldn't even speak. He just sighed again, his breath misting the glass. If only he were the one with Mrs Puff, serenading her with sea shanties, giving her nicknames like "prickly peach"...

D'oh. Who was Squid kidding? She was out of his league from Day One. That (#11) Bob had made sure of that. And even if the two of them had something in common…  
…by now it was probably too late.

Squidward was in love.  
What could he say?  
What could he do?  
What could Squidward do but look?  
Look and tremble like...  
something wounded?

* * *

Note to self, good authors never leave one's imagination home alone.  
Band8PGeek. 


End file.
